The present invention relates to an improvement in splicing arrangements for pipe-type cables and, more specifically, relates to a sleeve arrangement which is designed to permit freedom of longitudinal cable movements within the joint casing while supporting the cables against bending within the joint casing.
The currently used arrangement for supporting spliced cables within a joint casing involves the support of the cables at intervals along the length thereof with members generally referred to as spiders. The spiders are bound to the spliced cables which generally comprise three cables and are sized to radially space the cables to center the cables within the joint casing.
The spiders are attached to the cables so that, if there is any longitudinal movement of the splice, the spiders slide along the inside of the joint casing. This situation is generally acceptable for small movements of the splices, but if there is any appreciable movement of the splices, as can occur on a grade where the cables tend to slide down hill, the movement may be great enough to result in the end spider moving to the terminal end of the casing. This extreme situation then prevents further movement of the cable and, due to the fact that the spiders are bound to the cables, damage to the cable insulation can occur resulting in electrical failure.
Because of the degree of potential cable movement within the casing, which movement is frequently encountered in the field, it is not possible to leave sufficient distance from the original position of the spider to the end of the joint casing to accommodate all possible movement. If too much distance is permitted between the original position of the spider and the end of the joint casing, the unsupported cable may sag resulting in severe bending and the cable may be damaged at the entrance to the main pipe.